Author: Jack Bogart

My wife wants a new headboard, after we got rid of our traditional mattress in favor of an adjustable one (because we are old…make fun all you want, I haven’t woken up in the middle of the night since it was set up a month ago). As a result the ambling pace of the knife station build had to be accelerated significantly and so two weekends of focused work brought the project to an end. The final steps were fun ones—getting the fire extinguisher in place, adding a bottom shelf, creating a grommet for the power cords, attaching the aluminum…

There are knives that become products, and there are knives that become dialects.The Spyderco Para Military 2 since its inception belongs firmly to the second category. For sixteen years, the PM2 has occupied a rare position in the knife world: not merely respected, but culturally embedded. Made in Golden Colorado USA Earth, designed in the lineage of the original C36 Military model and its offspring the Paramilitary 1 from 2004, the Paramilitary 2 refined the formula into something more agile, more urban, more universally wearable. I have never really gotten into the Paramilitary series of Spydercos.  I have a PM3,…

H. Clay Aalders is a lifelong edged tool user. He spent the past 20 years as a woodworker and fishing guide in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Idaho, and Tennessee. While guiding in Idaho, Clay worked part-time writing for a local newspaper, and upon moving to Tennessee began writing for the blog The Truth About Knives – spending his last 5 years there as Managing Editor. His background is in fixed-blade hunting and bushcraft knives, but has jumped into the world of vintage slipjoint collecting with both feet since coming to work at Knife Magazine. Clay’s primary role is as Digital…

For decades, warfighters have accepted unnecessary weight as part of the job. Extra ounces became extra pounds. Extra pounds became fatigue. Fatigue became slower movement, reduced endurance, and increased physical wear over time. Everyone acknowledged the burden. Few questioned whether it was avoidable. Blue Force Gear did. Long before “lightweight” became an industry buzzword, Blue Force Gear engineered a system designed to reduce load carriage weight without sacrificing durability, capability, or compatibility. The result was Helium Whisper®, a patented attachment system that fundamentally changed what modern load-bearing equipment could be. Helium Whisper pouches reduce weight by up to 50 percent compared to legacy pouch designs while remaining fully…

PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J — More than 150 government and industry leaders convened at Picatinny Arsenal on April 28 for the Kinetic C-UAS Industry Day to forge critical partnerships and accelerate the development kinetic drone-defeat technologies to ensure U.S. warfighters maintain technological overmatch. The summit centered on kinetic counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS), technologies engineered to detect, track and physically destroy hostile drones, distinct from non-kinetic systems that rely on electronic jamming or redirection. Senior Scientific Technical Manager for Weapons and Software Engineering Tony Pezzano noted a desire to firmly establish the Armaments Center as a premier partner for kinetic C-UAS. “We…

Achilles Heel Tactical has officially launched the AHT Podcast, a long-form conversational platform hosted by AHT instructor David Acosta Jr., intended to extend many of the discussions that naturally happen around its training programs. The debut episode, “The Genesis of AHT,” features founder Rick Crawley discussing the origins of Achilles Heel Tactical, the philosophy behind the company, and the standards that continue to shape its direction today. For those who have trained with AHT, the format will feel familiar. Some of the most meaningful conversations don’t happen while standing on the firing line. They happen during lunch, after class, or…

By Massad Ayoob Posted in #Guns I recently had the chance to test the Springfield Armory Mil-Spec pistol in .45 ACP, positioned in the manufacturer’s line as a very reasonably priced basic service pistol — yet one that still features a rugged forged frame and slide. Except for its taller sights, it shares the silhouette of a World War II era 1911-A1. While it’s part of the 1911-A1 series from Springfield Armory, curiously it is not so marked: the left side of the slide says simply MIL-SPEC, while the right side bears the Springfield Armory logo. So,…

The?American flag is a symbol of freedom and patriotism, but?before?the Continental Congress adopted the first?official flag in 1777, many other?flags were?flown. As America?celebrates 250 years of freedom, here’s a?look at a few of the various United States flags flown during combat by soldiers, sailors,?Marines?and militia during the American Revolutionary War.? Flags were a significant part of the war, as they served to instill esprit de corps in the men?and also?aided in?rallying the troops,?as the flag carrier led from the front. They?expressed liberty and national identity, as well as a?means to assert sovereignty against British rule.? The use of colors?—?the?term for…

YUMA PROVING GROUND, Ariz. — In the past, testing a gun tube required an accompanying weapon system. The future is here where that is no longer necessary. Yuma Test Center acquired a proof gun system, or PGS, developed by U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center which allows a gun tube to be mounted and fired for testing without the weapon system. “The idea was to build a system that would allow them to put a number of different tubes in,” explained Quentin Sorenson, the test officer with the Munitions and Weapons Division who oversaw the installation of the…

By Friedrich Seiltgen Posted in #History During the 1950s and early 1960s, the Century series of fighter aircraft — the F-100 to F-106 — ruled the skies. The first in the series, the F-100 Super Sabre, also known as the “Hun,” was the first U.S.A.F. Fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight, and was created as the successor to the F-86 Sabre. The F-86 was the Air Force’s first swept-wing fighter designed for air-to-air combat against the MiG-17 and was considered the best fighter during the Korean War. The F-100 served in Vietnam as a fighter-bomber…